


missed it from the start

by xoxoHoran



Series: will and angie explore the unknown [3]
Category: Single Parents (TV 2018)
Genre: Can be read alone, F/M, Friendship to Love, Slow Burn, pure fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:40:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24314413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xoxoHoran/pseuds/xoxoHoran
Summary: everybody talksfocuses on outside perspectives and observations of will and angie's relationship.missed it from the startoffers insights on the actual development.(can be read alone, of course)
Relationships: Will Cooper/Angie D'Amato
Series: will and angie explore the unknown [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1746952
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19





	missed it from the start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They may not have a defined relationship or have addressed the whole 'I'm falling in love with you' think (he and Poppy have discussed it in length, though, and she thinks it's better that he lets Angie bring it up _naturally_ ), but he can't help but feel that this (they) are right: it's not the summer he would have imagined a few years ago (can you say Colonial Massachusetts with Sophie to see where the Salem Witch Trials happened?), but he thinks maybe this is better than his original plans.

**Will (1:10 p.m.):** Angie, it’s an emergency! You need to come to the Winebrary as soon as possible!

 **Will (1:11 p.m.):** This is serious!

 **Will (1:13 p.m.):** Are you getting these messages?

 **Angie (1:15 p.m.):** What kind of emergency requires the Winebrary? Also, I’m sorry it’s taken _5 minutes_ to respond, but might I suggest that _every time_ you say it’s an emergency, it is _never_ an emergency.

 **Will (1:15 p.m.):** Well, even if that might be true, it’s an emergency now. Poppy showed up tipsy to the Winebrary and is asking if she should get back together with Douglas. SHOULD SHE GET BACK TOGETHER WITH DOUGLAS?!

 **Will (1:16 p.m.):** This is too much pressure. I can’t handle this. What if I say yes and then things don’t work out with Douglas in the long run. What if I say no and then Douglas hates me forever.

 **Angie (1:16 p.m.):** Don’t say anything, I’ll be there in a few.

* * *

**Will (1:26 p.m.):** Ange, there is a weather emergency I have to attend to! Good luck with Poppy! Keep me updated!

 **Angie (1:26 p.m.):** Will, you are standing right beside me, why don’t you just talk out loud like a normal person?

 **Angie (1:27 p.m.):** Also, please tell me you don’t actually think I’m stupid enough to believe that lie. With you, it’s _never_ an emergency.

* * *

“Okay team, I picked up some of those silver and blue ornaments you said to bring and, let me tell ya, I had to look at five different stores to find ones that specifically matched the picture, Rory.” Angie announces as she makes her into the Cooper house, her arms filled with grocery bags.

She smiles slightly when she sees the white, pre-lit tree Rory somehow convinced Will was ‘ _necessary to go with the aesthetic of the party_ ,’ setting her bags down beside the decoration before making her way into the kitchen, where Will is testing yet another Christmas cookie recipe (he doesn’t say it, but she can tell that he had thought he was a little better at baking than he turns out to be). 

“It looks like Betty Crocker died in here, how many different kinds of cookies have you made today?” Angie questions, looking at the numerous baking sheets spread around Will’s kitchen, with different bowls of raw dough sitting beside each type. Rory is scrunching his face as he eats what she thinks looks like a snickerdoodle, clearly not thrilled with what he’s been presented with (she files away the knowledge that _Will Cooper_ is not great at baking Christmas cookies, knowing it might be useful later). 

“Rory here is a tough critic,” Will mutters as he takes another tray out of the oven, this batch looking a little burnt around the edges. Angie cringes slightly at the aroma that fills the room and watches as Will’s face falls, all traces of enthusiasm and hopefulness that usually define his personality gone.

“Speaking of which, Rory, I don’t know if you heard, but I brought back those ornaments for you and as much spray snow as I could find: maybe you wanna start on the tree and I’ll be right behind you?” Angie suggests, Rory’s face lighting up as he practically sprints toward the living room.

“We’ve got maybe five minutes, what the hell is going on here?” Angie waits to make sure Rory is out of the room before taking a step closer to Will (they are still slowly adjusting to the idea of being ‘more than friends’ thing and one of the first steps, they decided, was trying the whole ‘being physically closer to one another’ thing). Honestly, Angie has never seen Will Cooper fail at _anything_ , so it’s a little alarming to be faced with multiple failures at once.

“I think it’s obvious what is going on here,” Will mumbles, wrapping an arm around her, pulling her closer. He feels upset and needs comfort, especially after Rory’s harsh critiques of all his Christmas-time favorites (the kid might actually make him start hating the holiday). Angie rolls her eyes as she loosely wraps her arms around Will, leaning slightly into his body as she looks around the kitchen once more.

“Well, like I said earlier, it looks like Betty Crocker turned your kitchen into a tornado zone,” Angie mutters, allowing herself to be enveloped in the warmth Will provides.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but I can’t make the perfect cookies if my life depended on it! Last Christmas, I hit it out of the park with all of Sophie and my holiday favorites, but I can’t seem to do it today.” 

Angie knows without looking that Will is sporting a pout and thinking about how much he misses his daughter: sometimes he messages her in the middle of the night, discussing how something as miniscule as the way his toothbrush was laying on the counter reminded him of Sophie (it reminds her of the earlier days of their friendship, when he had that weird mermaid bag and a living room full of bean bag chairs).

“Listen, Rory is a harsh critic to please and your oven isn’t set to the right temperature: both of these things probably have you a little off your game. Everything’s going to be fine,” Angie assures him, letting herself linger in his embrace for a brief second more before heading separating the two of them and heading toward the living room to help decorate with Rory, taking a burnt gingerbread man on her way out of the kitchen.

Will smiles behind her, quickly turning off the oven and putting the assortment of dough into his refrigerator before joining the duo in decorating (besides the ornaments and fake snow, Angie has also brought glitter and garland, both of which excite Rory endlessly).

* * *

“Oh come on, you have to tell me who you drew; I told you who I drew!” Will is trailing slightly behind Angie as they make their way outside, armed with his inflatable Santa and multiple cans of fake snow (Rory had demanded that both were necessary to make it _feel_ like Christmas, to which Angie had scoffed because the only time she had ever seen snow in California was at Lake Arrowhead).

“First of all, I wouldn’t say that I drew the name, you kinda forced it into my hand and it was very clearly the last piece of paper in your weird hat,” Angie’s nose crinkles as she remembers the black tophat Will and brought around with him, insisting that everyone chose a name for their Secret Santa exchange at the Winebrary. “And secondly, you needed my help picking out a scrapbook that Poppy wouldn’t hate: you needed me way more than I needed to know who you had.”

“Okay, fine, so I needed a little help: don’t you think it should be my turn to help you out a little? Who do you have? Is it Douglas? Me? Miggy? I can keep a secret!”

His eyes are sparkling and the grin on his face makes him look as if he’s ten and eagerly awaiting Santa’s arrival instead of 35 and inflating the large decoration in early June. Angie smiles a little at the sight before returning to her task of spraying fake snow on some of his bushes, trying to cover as much foliage as possible.

“We both know you’re not great at keeping secrets, Will, and if I were to tell you, then you could easily figure out who has you and the whole surprise would be ruined.” 

Angie’s logic is nothing short of fool-proof, though Will still tries to find holes within it, desperate to know who she has (so what? Maybe he does want to know who has him, that isn’t a crime).

“I’m just going to tactfully ignore that accusation and plead again: please tell me who you drew! I could help you pick out the perfect gift: I am _known_ for giving amazing gifts.”

“Are you? I thought Mia was known for giving amazing gifts and yours were always kinda eh.” She gestures with her hand to suggest so-so, looking amused as Will huffs at the fact that she, technically, has a point. “Besides, I found the perfect gift already, there is no need to worry.

* * *

“At least this batch tastes good,” Angie smiles as she takes a bite of what looks like a deformed gingerbread man: though Will had finally hit his stride with baking the cookies, icing was evidently not his strongest suit. 

She watches as he stick his tongue out slightly in concentration, both hands on the icing bag so that he can at least attempt to make some sort of ‘masterpiece,’ snapping a few photos when he isn’t paying attention (she had come over early to make sure everything was in order and had found him hunched over his cookies a couple of hours ago).

“Thank God, otherwise Rory would kill me,” Will states, his voice serious as he continues his icing duties.

“I’m sure that isn’t true: if he didn’t kill you for wearing those khakis that tore off into shorts, then he won’t kill you for baking cookies that both taste and look terrible.” Angie remarks, taking another bite from her cookie, shuddering slightly as she remembers the outfit Will had intended to wear on the first date she ever set him up on. God that felt like forever ago.

“I thought _you_ were going to kill me after you found that mermaid bag, you were so disturbed.” Will laughs lightly, a grin stretching across his face as he continues frosting.

“That was horrible and you know it. I stand by the fact that there was a reason Mia didn’t take that specific bag with her.”

* * *

After everyone else leaves and it’s just the two of them on clean-up, Will pats the seat beside him on the sofa, not wanting to think about the mess he has allowed Rory to make in his home. His trophy is sitting on the coffee table, reflecting the twinkle lights from the tree and making him smile as he remembers the conversation he and Angie had a few days prior about what she was getting her Secret Santa.

“I can’t believe you had me all along and you wouldn’t tell me,” Will huffs as Angie falls onto the couch near him, her body sprawling across her half to emphasize her exhaustion.

“It wouldn’t be a secret if you knew who had you, now would it?” She retorts, allowing her eyes to close for a brief moment. “I hope you like the trophy.”

“It’s a nice trophy,” Will mumbles, throwing his arm around Angie and bringing her closer to him as he looks around his room, taking in the _ambiance_ he and Rory spent countless hours creating.

"Does it make you feel appreciated and _cherished_?" Her voice is hardly more than a whisper, but Will laughs at the memory of their first Christmas as friends, when he had told her all about his abilities to give the _perfect_ presents.

"Yeah, it does," Will mumbles, staring at the trophy before looking fondly at her.

She's intently watching _It's a Wonderful Life_ (his favorite Christmas movie which he had insisted they watch, no matter how much Angie protested) leaning slightly on him (he tells himself it's because she's exhausted after the day they've had, but he doesn't think he's _too_ believable) and he finds himself smiling.

They may not have a defined relationship or have addressed the whole 'I'm falling in love with you' thing (he and Poppy have discussed it in length, though, and she thinks it's better that he lets Angie bring it up _naturally_ ), but he can't help but feel that this (they) are right: it's not the summer he would have imagined a few years ago (can you say Colonial Massachusetts with Sophie to see where the Salem Witch Trials happened?), but he thinks maybe this is better than his original plans.

Everything just feels _right_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, so I've decided to write this to coincide with the chapters of _everybody talks_ and offer some extra moments that are unseen! that being said, I'm more than open to any sort of direction you might have!
> 
> I hope you liked it!


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